Labissiere roars back in UK win at Florida

Kentucky Coach John Calipari and UK players talk about the win at Florida

Kentucky forward Skal Labissiere (1) shoots a hook shot over Florida center John Egbunu (15) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Gainesville, Fla., on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.(Photo: Ron Irby, AP)

After a season of shrinking, as if by Wonderland magic, from five-star recruit and projected lottery pick to little-used backup buried on Kentucky’s bench, the 6-foot-11 freshman sprung spectacularly back to life-sized Tuesday night at Florida.

He made a surprise start, his first since Dec. 19, and delivered his biggest performance in months: 11 points, a career-high eight rebounds, a block and a steal in just 15 foul-plagued minutes. He hardly carried the Wildcats, who had five players score in double-figures during the 88-79 victory, but he certainly lifted them.

“If he can give us 15-20 minutes like that,” coach John Calipari said, “we’re pretty good.”

As it stands, with minimal contribution from Labissiere, UK (22-8, 12-5 SEC) has put itself in position to win at least a share of the league’s regular-season title with a victory over LSU at home on Saturday. But the 19th-ranked Cats have their eyes on a much bigger postseason prize, and they’ll need help from their inconsistent frontcourt to achieve that one.

That’s why, in addition to Labissiere’s burst, it was huge for Kentucky to get 12 points and 10 boards from senior forward Alex Poythress and five points, eight rebounds and three blocks from junior forward Marcus Lee against the Gators.

“Coming off a loss (Saturday at Vanderbilt), you always want to step up and play big,” Poythress said. “We can’t be a one-dimensional team. We gotta have all-around scoring.”

And if the Cats can get some of that - plus a little rebounding - from Labissiere, he could be an X-factor in the NCAA Tournament. He was expected to be the factor in Kentucky’s frontcourt when he showed up this summer as a projected (by some) No. 1 pick in the next NBA draft.

He started UK’s first 11 games but became inexplicably overwhelmed, incapable of competing on the glass and saw his confidence shaken to the core. He went to the bench and at times it appeared he might never make his way back to a meaningful role.

Labissiere averaged just 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in the 20 games before Tuesday’s.

But on Monday, “apparently I had a pretty good practice,” he said, “and Coach Cal told me I was going to start. So I just had to get myself ready for it.”

Calipari first consulted with point guard Tyler Ulis, who went for 19 points and 11 assists against the Gators, after seeing something he liked in Labissiere during that practice.

“I looked at Tyler and I said, ‘I’m thinking about starting him tomorrow.’ And he said, ‘Do it,’ ” Calipari recalled. “And I said, ‘Yep, then I will.’ ”

Labissiere rewarded that decision in the first 90 seconds against Florida, winning the opening tip, snagging a rebound and swishing a hook shot in short order.

Soon after, he scooped up a loose ball, spun and sank a jump shot. Then another hook, and a bushel of boards - the skinny kid with an aversion to contact was suddenly searching for a body to box out. He had six points and four rebounds in his first four minutes.

“He’s just come a long way,” Florida coach Mike White said. “They haven’t gotten that from him consistently. They looked like a really good team tonight. If they continue to get post production from him and from Poythress, with their backcourt … they’re even harder to defend.”

When the Gators sliced a 14-point lead down to two with 17:41 to go, Labissiere hammered in a putback dunk, swiped a steal and sank a free throw in a 21-second span. Moments later, he drained a baseline jumper on one end and then swatted a shot on the other, helping Kentucky pull away.

“I’m gonna say this: He can do it; it’s very hard, though,” Calipari said. “What he’s finding out, kind of like Jamal (Murray) found out … and most of these guys: What got you here to Kentucky isn’t going to get you where you want to go. You gotta start doing things, you gotta work harder, you gotta be more focused.”

Starting Labissiere was not the big “tweak” Kentucky’s coach teased on Friday, but his breakout game was perhaps just as important as whatever tinkering Calipari plans to do between now and the postseason. The start “meant a lot,” Labissiere said, and was “a huge confidence booster.”

“If he can do that every game, we’ll love that,” Poythress said. “But from here on out, he’s just gotta build on it.”

He hadn’t scored more than six points in any of the previous nine games. He’d grabbed more than three rebounds just three times in the previous 18 games. So this was a start - or at least Labissiere and the Wildcats hope so.

“We don’t have a long season left,” he said. “Hopefully, I can do that in tournament time.”